choosing a college

information about choosing a college

Choose your college carefully

Education after high college costs you time, money, and effort. It's a big investment, and you should carefully evaluate the college you're considering. Just because a college participates in the federal student aid programs does not mean the U. S. Department of Education has endorsed the quality of the education the college offers. The Department does not approve a college's curriculum, policies, or administrative practices, except as they relate to how the college operates the federal student financial aid programs. It's up to you to check out the college.

Basic questions when choosing a college

• ask the college for a copy of the documents describing the college's accreditation and licensing. The accrediting and licensing agencies have evaluated the college and found it meets certain minimum requirements that the agencies have set.
• ask the college about its loan default rate (the percentage of students who attended the college, took out federal student loans, and later went into default). You may not be able to get aid from some of the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Programs at a college if that college has a high default rate.
• ask the college for a copy of its campus security report. The campus security report provides information on the college's campus security policies and campus crime statistics. colleges must publish and distribute a campus security report every year to all current students and employees of the college. In addition, if you contact a college and ask for admissions information, the college must inform you that its campus security report is available, provide you with a summary of the report, and let you know how you may obtain a copy. If you have evidence that any information provided in a college's campus security report is inaccurate, contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

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• ask the college for its job placement rate. If the college advertises its job placement rates, it must also publish the most recent employment statistics, graduation statistics, and any other information necessary to back up its claims. This information must be available at, or before, the time you apply for admission to the college.
• ask the financial aid office about the college's refund policy. If you enroll but never begin classes, you should get most of your money back. If you begin attending classes but leave before completing your coursework, you may be able to get part of your money back. Keep in mind that if you receive federal student aid from any of the programs mentioned in the Guide--except for Federal Work-Study--and a refund is made, some or all of that money will be returned directly to those aid programs or to the lender for your loans.

  NOTE: Even if you don't finish your coursework, you'll have to repay the loan funds you received, less any amount returned to your lender by the college.

Financial aid considerations when choosing a college

• find out about financial aid availability. You have the right to receive the following information from the college:
  • the financial assistance that is available, including information on all federal, state, local, private, and institutional financial aid programs.
  • the procedures and deadlines for submitting applications for each available financial aid program.
  • how a college selects financial aid recipients.
  • how the college determines your financial need.
  • how the college determines each type and amount of assistance in your financial aid package.
  • how and when you'll receive your aid.
  • how the college determines whether you're making satisfactory academic progress, and what happens if you're not. Whether you continue to receive federal financial aid depends, in part, on whether you make satisfactory academic progress.
  • if you're offered a Federal Work-Study job, what the job is, what hours you must work, what your duties will be, what the rate of pay will be, and how and when you'll be paid.
  • the location, hours, and counseling procedures of the college's financial aid office.

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• talk to high college counselors, local employers, and the state higher education agency. See if any complaints about the college have been filed with the local Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, or consumer protection division of the state attorney general's office. Contact these organizations if you have a complaint about a college.
• you may also wish to ask the college for a copy of its "equity-in-athletics" report. Any coeducational college where you can receive SFA Program assistance that has an intercollege athletic program must prepare an equity-in-athletics report giving financial and statistical information for men's and women's sports. This information is designed to make students aware of a college's commitment to providing equitable athletic opportunities for its men and women students.

Financial aid considerations when choosing a college

You're paying for a quality education. Make sure you get it.

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Information is partially based on documents from the U.S. Department of Education